Tempted (A Player Brother Romance Book) (A Standalone Novel) (Player Brothers Book 1) (11 page)

"Is it booze?" Aiden said. "I say we
shoot it."

"Okay, I guess." I touched the edge of the
glass to my lips.

"Bottoms up," he said, lifting his glass to
his mouth and then threw his head back in the classic college student method.

I followed suit finding the liquid refreshing and
smooth on my tongue. I also noticed some of the other patrons around us giving
us a side glance. It was then that I noticed one of the other women across the
restaurant sipping delicately on her small glass. Oh well.

"What did we get as an appetizer?" I asked.

"I have no idea. Whatever the guy said,” he
answered as we both suppressed laughter once more.

The evening continued and I felt quite at ease with
him. We were both pleasantly surprised to find the appetizers consisted of
toasted bread and a nice cheese spread alongside the caviar, which I had never
had before. I found the taste wonderful, clear and smooth with hind of
saltiness. When the entrees arrived however, we were both surprised to find a
small dome of something pink, surrounded by a green garnish, and some water
crackers.

"I thought we ordered the steak,” I said.

"I think we did," he answered, peering down
at his plate.

"Wait," I said. "Did he say steak tartare?"

"Yeah, why?" Aiden asked.

"Aiden, this is raw meat."

I watched him peer down at the presentation on his
plate with serious consideration as he realized my statement was true. Once
more we both erupted into laughter.

"Oh, wow,” he said. "Well, I hope this
doesn’t ruin your night."

"Of course not," I said. "I'm having
fun." He looked relieved at my words. "So what do you say, should we
give it a try?"

"Might as well,” he said.

I picked up a morsel with my fork and placed it on my
tongue. The taste wasn’t unpleasant and I nodded towards Aiden.

"Not bad," I said.

He tried a bite and agreed.

"Though I will say that the food is not bad here,
I think we can both agree on one thing."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Next time we are going back to that oyster
bar."

"Definitely." I nodded.

I took another sip of wine, having lost count how many
glasses I had already had. We finished our meal, continuing to enjoy ourselves
and making quiet fun of the upper crust patronage of the restaurant.

We decided to walk down by the beach for a bit, but as
we stepped off the patio onto the sand by foot twisted just a bit causing me to
tumble. Aiden caught me by the elbows which prevented me from falling all the
way to the ground.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks,” I said, pulling myself away from
him although hesitantly as I enjoyed the feeling of securing in his steady
touch.

"I might be a bit tipsier than I realized,” I explained.

"I have an idea,” he said. "My apartment
isn't far from here, just about a ten minutes’ walk if we stay along the shore.
Why don't we go there and have a night cap. Then we'll call it an
evening."

"That sounds great,” I said.

I kicked off my shoes and we walked along the sand. I
enjoyed the feeling of the sand through my toes and every once in a while a
bold wave would wash close to us enough that I could dip my bare toes in. Aiden
still wore his shoes and stayed well away from the salt water.

The night air was warm, but the breeze of the ocean
did much to add to the magic of the night. Within about ten minutes we arrived
at his apartment. His porch looked out over the water, and I find myself amazed
at how nice the place is once we stepped inside, with an off-white plush carpet
and sleek, modern furniture.

How the hell could afford this place?

"How long have you lived here?" I asked.

"I got this place while I was still in school so
I guess a couple of years,” he said.

"How on earth did you afford to find a place like
this as a student?!" I asked.

"I had a bunch of roommates at first," he
said as handed me a glass of scotch over ice. "We wanted to live by the
water, so we agreed that we would bunk up. You should have seen the place. Each
of us pretty much lived in the corner. But all we did was sleep here, so it
made little difference. We spent most of our time out on the water if we were
here. They all moved out one by one over time. About six months ago the last
one moved out and it was just me then. I figured I would keep it since I could
afford to with the new job."

He won’t be able to afford it after I win the
competition.

"Wow," I said gazing out at the view, taking
in the white sand gleaming in the moonlight. "You got lucky."

"I had the furniture changed out so it wouldn't
look so much like a frat boy dorm room."

"I can see that," I said. "It looks
great. This view is spectacular."

"Yeah, it is,” he said.

I sipped the tumbler of scotch he had given me and
realized that this one was pushing me over edge from a little bit tipsy to
feeling quite a bit wobbly. We had both been in a laughing mood all night, and
now seemed no different. My inhibitions were practically gone and I no longer
had any concern about anything outside of tonight.

I had developed a serious case of tunnel vision.

I turned towards Aiden, to ask him a question.
Something rather important and pressing I remained certain. But as soon as I
turned to look at him I felt a bit overcome. The whole night so far we had
maintained the playful nature of our friendship, but in this moment I realized
just how sexy he looked, tan and blonde, the moonlight streaming through the
window and the effects of the alcohol coursing through my system all
contributed to what happened next.

I stepped forward and nudged his arm, so he turned to
face me. I had positioned myself so that when he turned his head he would be
mere inches away from my face. He noticed our closeness and took a motion as if
to step backwards.

"Aiden," I said, keeping his attention with
my gaze.

He hesitated staying close to me. A moment of silence
hung between us, both of us saying nothing and everything at once.

 
On impulse I
kissed him.

The warmth of his lips had me overcome instantly. I
felt his breath catch when I pressed my body against him, but he soon relaxed
and kissed me back. I felt as if the tables had turned.

Without breaking contact he set down his own tumbler
and took mine placing it next to his on the glass surface of his dining table.

His tongue teased me and I opened my lips slightly,
searching his mouth with my tongue. His hands rested lightly on my hips but his
body pressed against mine urgently and without shame. Once again I felt amazed
at the muscular feel of his torso, tensing as his arms moved to encircle my
waist.

Before long I felt the urgency between us rising as he
probed my mouth further with his tongue, ravishing my mouth. I fell into him
feeling my inhibitions melt away as his hands caressed my back. He pulled me
close to him and I felt my breasts pressed against him responding to the
pressure of his body.

His mouth traveled from my lips along the edge of my
neck to the divot just below my earlobe. He teased with his lips and the tip of
his tongue. The sensation nearly made my knees give out. I let out a small moan
as I clung to the fabric of his clothing. He let out a throaty laugh at my
reaction, even as I dug my nails into him playfully.

Any inhibition that I may have previously had, had
completely vanished. I no longer cared about consequences. I reached forward
and my inebriated fingers tried to unbutton his shirt. He pulled off his jacket
as I did so letting it drop to the floor. I struggled with the tiny white
buttons against the white fabric, but remained determined to undress him.

"You know what?" he asked.

I expected him to stop me, bringing up any reason why
continuing would not be a good idea.

"What?" I asked, taking a small step back
ready to hear his reasoning.

"I have other shirts," he replied, pulling
his shirt open and not worrying about tearing the buttons off.

He tossed it to the floor. I laughed at his brashness
and he pulled me towards him planting another kiss firmly on my lips. I
welcomed him with my body, my lips, every part of me, feeling myself melting
into him.

I hadn’t been touched this way by a man in a very long
time.

A very
very
long time.

Every nerve in me had been pulled taut like a stringed
instrument ready to be played. His hands had made their way to the back of my
dress, and pulled gently on the zipper exposing the flesh of my back to his
urgent touch.

I desired nothing more than to feel the warmth of his
skin against mine. I pulled my dress off revealing the black lace bra and
panties set that I had put on, mainly because it was the only undergarment I
had that didn’t shine through the black dress. I was glad I did, as he stood
back and looked me over, with hunger in his eyes.

"Don't move," he said as he stepped back and
disappeared into the kitchen.

"Okay," I said with hesitancy.

What was he up to?

He returned a moment later and knelt slightly planting
kisses on the flesh between my breasts. I realized after a moment that the
sensation of cold that I felt which momentarily confused me was from the ice
cube that he had tucked between his front teeth. He traced the icy trail along
my collar bone, sending shivers through my bones and fire though my veins. The
ice melted leaving a trail of cold dripping down my stomach, which he followed
with his mouth, melting the liquid in rivulets along my skin.

On his knees now, he steadied himself with his hands
at my hips, tracing the cold torture along the lace edge of my panties, my
stomach muscles convulsing at the sensation. I closed my eyes and laced my
fingers lightly in his hair as he moved over my body with his mouth, teasing me
to the edge of reason. Every part of my being wanted him. I had accepted the
circumstances and thrown the consequences to the wind.

But, god, what he was doing to me!

I didn’t know how much more I could take and yet I
wanted more.

He pulled me down to his level gently laying me down
right on the carpet so I was laying down prone before him. This made it easier
for him to continue to torture me with the cold sensation tracing over my skin.

He moved back up my stomach, raking his fingertips
along my torso, now dripping wet from his ministrations. The heat of his touch
off set the goosebumps that had arisen from the ice, and his hands landed upon
my bra. He carefully caressed them dancing his fingers along the edge of the
fabric. Instantly I reacted, my nipples hardened into points.

I knew that he had to have felt them against his
palms.

With surgical care he pulled the fabric of my right
cup down exposing my breast to him. He smiled at me revealing the still sizable
ice cube parked between his front teeth, revealing what he had planned. I
squirmed in anticipation, catching his eyes before he lowered the ice cube down
on to my exposed nipple. The cold seared through the sensitive skin, causing me
to cry out with pain and pleasure.

His other hand caressed my free breast, lightly
pinching my nipple through the cloth while circling the ice on the other one.
In a smooth motion he pulled the fabric down so both breasts were now exposed.
My back had lifted up off of the carpet from the tension that coursed through
me.

He placed his hands behind my back lifting me with one
hand and steadying himself on the floor with the other, to have better
leverage. The ice cube melted completely, or he swallowed it because the next
sensation was that of his fiery hot lips caressing in the very same places
where the cold had dominated moments before.

He caressed his lips around the circle of my areolas,
first one and then the other. I pressed my palms into the carpet and moved my
body, arching towards him to be as close to him as possible. Through the
remaining fabric between us, I could feel his need arising through the bulge in
his pants that grazed against my thigh as he continued to nibble at my tits.

I placed one hand on his head caressing his blond
locks once more. He lifted his face and then kissed a trail up my sternum and
continuing along the center of my throat. When he crested the edge of my chin I
tilted my face towards him and let him kiss me fully on the lips as I wrapped
my arms around his neck clinging to him with all my strength.

His body crushed against mine, and with every inch of
my being I felt the muscles tense at our contact. I angled my hands to find the
button of his pants.

He pulled my hands away and shook his head with a
mischievous grin though. He kissed me again as if we melted into one another.

His hands reached behind me and found the clasp of my
bra, which soon landed on top of the pile that contained his shirt and my
dress. He slipped his head down and kissed my neck, causing my desire to flare
up once more. He reached down and removed my panties pulling them down around
my ankles and I kicked them to the side.